Want something special for weekend nibbling?

This seven-layer dip with a Tuscan twist (photo #1, recipe below) is perfect with beer, iced tea, sparkling water, wine, or whatever drink you like (gin and tonic, anyone?).

The recipe is from Pompeian, which sent us a bottle of their first single-origin extra virgin olive oil (photo #2).

The origin of the olives is Spain, an appropriate debut since Spain is the largest producer of olive oil in the world. Pompeian’s olives are harvested by a community of farmers in Spain, who only select premium-quality olives from the trees.

Pompeian 100% Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil, rolling out in stores nationwide this summer (here’s a store locator), is the first in a new line of single origin olive oils from the brand.

The EVOO is fruity and herbal, with bold, bitter and spicy flavor notes. It’s ready for baking, caprese salad, cooking eggs, drizzling (baked potato, fruit salad, grains, pizza, plate or soup), as a dipping sauce or pasta sauce, in a marinade, sauté, vinaigrette—any place you’d like some rich, healthful olive oil flavor.

Use it for everyday food prep and for a special-occasion appetizer, like this seven-layer dip:
 
 
RECIPE: 7 LAYER TUSCAN DIP

This recipe, sent to us by Pompeian, was developed for them by Lemons From Lulu. Thanks to both for this yummy treat.

It was made with Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Pompeian Red Wine Vinegar.

We substituted tangy feta cheese for the cream cheese. You can also use goat cheese, since you need two ounces of it anyway.

Ingredients For 10 Servings

 
Plus

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the cream cheese, yogurt, salt and herbs in a bowl; stir until smooth. Spread the mixture on the bottom of an 8″ x 8″ baking dish.

2. HEAT 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium skillet placed over medium heat. Add the sliced onion. and cook it until soft and golden in color (this should take about 10-12 minutes).

3. ADD the vinegar to the onions, stir and heat until the vinegar evaporates. Remove the onions from the heat and allow them to cool.

4. COMBINE the beans, garlic, salt and lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse until combined. With the motor running, stream in the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil until the beans are smooth and creamy. Spread the bean mixture over the cream cheese.

5. CHOP the caramelized onions into bite-size pieces and arrange them over the beans. Top the onions with the olives, crumbled goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. Sprinkle chopped basil over the top.
 
 
ITALIAN HERB SEASONING RECIPE

If you don’t have Italian seasoning blend, here’s how to make your own.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

Blend all ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

Use the seasoning in the rest of your cooking: on other vegetables or rice, eggs, green salad, meat balls, meat loaf, pasta sauce and other Italian recipes.
 

[1] Seven-layer dip, Tuscan style (recipe and photo Lemons For Lulu via Pompeian).

[2] Pompeian’s new 100% Spanish EV00 (photo courtesy Pompeian).

[3] A classic Tex-Mex seven-layer dip. Here’s the recipe from My Latin Table.

[4] Layered dips can be made in individual portions, like this seven layer Tex-Mex dip. Here’s the recipe from The View From Great Island.

[5] Layered dips can elegant, too, like this one from Stacy’s Pita Chips.

A seven-layer dip is an American party appetizer with origins along the U.S. border with Mexico. It incorporates ingredients from Tex-Mex cuisine:

 
Seven layers was not a hard-and-fast rule: The number of layers can be less or more.

If made with authentic Hispanic ingredients, the ingredients would have only 6 layers: frijoles refritos con jalapeños (refried beans with jalapeños), guacamole, crema sazonada (seasoned sour cream), pico de gallo, queso rallado (grated cheese) and aceitunas negras picadas (pitted black olives).

The dish was Americanized to enable it to be made in areas where it wasn’t easy to find Mexican/Tex-Mex ingredients.

The dip was popular in Texas for some time before the recipe first appeared in national print. We recall it as a trendy party dip in the 1970s in Boston, served with corn chips or tortilla chips.

The first nationally-published recipe, according to Wikipedia, was in Family Circle magazine in 1981. The recipe was called Tex-Mex Dip.

[1] Sushi donuts can be filled and topped with anything you like. Express your outer sushi artist with different toppings, artistically presented. Here’s how to start, from A Side Of Sweet.

[2] Vegetarian sushi donuts, above with orange carrot, purple carrot, radish and black sesame seeds. Here’s the recipe from Two Spoons, as well as recipes for avocado-mango sushi donuts and rainbow sushi donuts.

[3] Shrimp and avocado sushi. Here’s the recipe from Sainsburys.

June 7th is National Donut Day. If you want to cut out the sugar and refined carbs, how about some sushi donuts?

This recipe from Kelly of A Side Of Sweet shows you how.

The donuts are typically “filled” with avocado or other soft item (small-dice poke, spicy tuna, etc.).

All you need are a donut baking pan or silicone donut molds*, sushi rice, and the toppings you want to use.

Begins with sushi-grade fish, or you can make vegetarian sushi donuts. Then, the toppings:

 
If you’re near an Asian grocer, take a look at all the pickled vegetables, for the donuts or as a side.

Fish and vegetables should be thinly sliced; and don’t forget soy sauce for dipping.
 
 
SIDE DISHES

Make a meal of it, by adding:

 
Make a buffet with all of them!

We tried the buffet idea, but ended up saving time by making poke bowls instead of enough sushi donuts for a crowd.

Sushi donuts were created in 2017 at Project Poke, an Asian fusion restaurant in Fountain Valley, Orange County, California.

The 4-inch snack was an immediate hit: sushi rice shaped like a donut, with a variety of seafood and/or vegetarian toppings.

It became an Instagram darling and now, sushi you can make at home with no rolling mat or skill to make nigiri beds.
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*Grease the pan/mold with grapeseed or other flavorless oil to allow for easy removal.

†Furakaki is a dry seasoning blend of chopped nori seaweed, dried fish (bonito) and sesame seeds with a bit of sugar and salt (it isn’t sweet). In Japan, it is sprinkled onto cooked rice, vegetables, and fish. You can shake it onto Western foods as well: deviled eggs, rice and grains, other starches, vegetables, the works.

If you’re near a Fleming’s Steakhouse (there are locations nationwide), you can celebrate Father’s Day with Filet Mignon Eggs Benedict (photo #1).

It’s a meat-lovers riff on the classic Eggs Benedict, which is Canadian bacon, a poached egg and hollandaise sauce on an English muffin (photo #2).

 
The original recipe from the 1860s is toasted English muffins topped with a round of cooked ham “an eighth of an inch thick and of the same diameter as the muffins one each half.” A poached egg is placed atop each muffin half, and the whole is covered with hollandaise sauce.

Here’s the history of Eggs Benedict.

Over the years, the ham was replaced with the newly-popular Canadian bacon; and since then, there has been an explosion of variations.

Just take a look at these and plan your own Signature Eggs Benedict.
 
 
VARIATIONS: MORE EGGS BENEDICT RECIPES

Here are updated versions of the Eggs Benedict recipe; but don’t forget Classic Eggs Benedict.

 
Plus A Related Recipe:

[1] Filet mignon eggs benedict, with filet mignon instead of ham/Canadian bacon and an added touch of sautéed spinach (photo courtesy Fleming’s Steakhouse).

[2] Classic Eggs Benedict: ham, poached egg and hollandaise sauce on an English Muffin, garnished with chives and paprika (photo courtesy The Incredible Egg).

National Eggs Benedict Day is April 16th.
 
Find more egg recipes on the pull-down menu at the upper right.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Don’t let the summery flowers and lavender label give the wrong impression: This floral gin is a delight for anyone who loves gin botanicals (photo courtesy Hendrick’s Gin).

[2] These ice cube trays make jumbo ice cubes, twice the size of standard cubes (photo courtesy Eparé).

Two Father’s Day gifts we’re giving this year: Hendricks Midsummer Solstice limited release gin, and Eparé jumbo ice cube trays, for the ultimate on-the-rocks experience.
 
 
HENDRICK’S MIDSUMMER SOLSTICE LIMITED EDITION GIN

The latest expression from Hendrick’s Gin, created at the newly-opened Hendrick’s Gin Palace in Girvan, Scotland.

The new expression captures “nature’s flavors and aromas at the peak of summer,” per Master Distiller Lesley Gracie, who also created the original Hendrick’s Gin. “…For this new expression I’ve hand-selected each floral essence to capture this intensity,” she notes.

The packaging (photo #1) features a deep purple bottle with lavender labels. The gin is clear, as always.

But don’t think that summer flowers and lavender labels mean “feminine.”

This is a full-on gin that’s perfect for sippers who enjoy the botanicals in a glass of gin, straight-up or on-the-rocks.

While Hendrick’s has created special cocktails to show off the new gin, we think that the best way to enjoy the uniqueness of any particular expression of spirits is to drink it “as is,” without the layering of other flavors or aromas.

But there are plenty of recipes online, starting with this Midsummer Spritz.

Once the small batch of bottles is gone, it’s gone forever. So in addition to Father’s Day gifts, we picked up an extra couple of bottles; maybe for gifting later on, maybe to remain in our personal stock.

For more information, visit HendricksGin.com.
 
 
EPARÉ JUMBO ICE CUBES

Eparé’s Clear Ice System has created trays for jumbo ice cubes: They’re two inches square!

They’re not just eye-catching: The larger the cube, the slower it melts.

Each ice cube tray makes six cubes (as compared to the traditional dozen regular cubes), $15.99 for a set of two trays.

The ice cube trays have lids, to protect the cubes from migrating aromas and freezer detritus.

Get yours at Empare.com, or at Overstock, Target, Wayfair and other retailers.

You can also use the trays to make:

 
Here are more uses for ice cube trays.

What’s new in sangria?

This clever idea from I|O Godfrey, a rooftop lounge at The Godfrey Hotel in Chicago. (In fact, it’s Chicago’s largest indoor/outdoor rooftop.)

An array of colored ice cubes is made from fresh fruit juices.

After they’re piled high in a tall glass, a blend of Moscato and vodka is poured from a pitcher at the table. The result: food art.

If you’d like to serve it at home, here’s a guide:
 
 
COLORED ICE CUBES

 
What about blue?

For the blue ice cubes, you can use:

 
How fun is this sangria?

Just try it!
 
 
MORE SANGRIA RECIPES

 
 
THE HISTORY OF SANGRIA
 
 
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*This is actually blue simple syrup. Make it and pour it into an ice cube tray.

[1] A rainbow of fruit-flavored ice cubes contribute the fruit juice to this innovative sangria from I|O Godfrey in Chicago (photo © Godfrey Hotel).

[2] A conventional sangria adds fresh fruit to the wine mixture (photo © McCormick).

[3] Many people think of sangria as a red-wine drink, but it is made with white wine and rosé, too (photo © Dante Restaurant | New York City).